


We found love in a haunted place

by SweetHeaven



Category: Free!
Genre: Angst, M/M, Romance, ghost story, please read A/N at the beginning for more details, potentially triggering content
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 20:54:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 18,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27312949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetHeaven/pseuds/SweetHeaven
Summary: Rascal Sousuke Yamazaki acted purely on instinct when he dived into the river to save a stranger. He never thought that his selfless action would end up with him being stuck with a ghost who may or may not be interested in starting a spooky business with him.
Relationships: Matsuoka Rin/Nanase Haruka, Tachibana Makoto/Yamazaki Sousuke
Comments: 22
Kudos: 15





	1. Is this fate?

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I don't know how to tag this fic without spoiling too much. This is, among other things, a ghost story, so there will be canon characters that will be dead. These deaths will be discussed throughout the fic. If that's not your cup of tea, you probably won't like this.
> 
> Also, it starts with Rin deciding to end his life, so if you feel that is triggering for you, you may want to go back now. If you feel it's triggering, but you still want to give the story a try, you can start reading from "Sousuke watched the body..." or from "The rain had stopped..." (this last option is safer), but be aware that you might not understand part of what is going on.
> 
> Most of the show's characters will appear or be mentioned at some point. I didn't tag them because I find that an excess of tags feels a bit overwhelming.
> 
> English is not my first language and I don't have a beta, so any mistakes are solely mine and I apologize.
> 
> To my dearest Riri1342 for being awesome. I love you.

** 31 October 2020 **

The first thing Rin thought when he reached the bridge was that the night was too cold for the last day of October.

He hadn't noticed it while he was walking the sheltered, narrow streets. Perhaps he was too focused on his destination to even register what happened around him.

But now he was in the open, and the rain soaking his jacket didn't help to make his walk any more pleasant, either.

He blew hot air on his hands to keep them warm but immediately realised how stupid that was. Soon he wouldn't be bothered by the freezing wind that made his fingers numb and tussled his hair.

Soon, he wouldn't have to worry about anything.

The words _'It's a good day to die'_ came to his mind. He was sure he had heard them somewhere, maybe in a movie, but he couldn't recall which one.

Were they true, though? Did the starless night and the crying sky mean that it was a good day for his life to end?

Would he feel any different if there were no clouds and the birds were singing and the sun was kissing his skin?

Probably not.

He grasped the iron railing and looked down.

The murky river running under the bridge was mesmerising, as if the dark waters were calling for his aching soul.

Rin didn't want to make them wait.

He took a last look at the full moon and took a deep breath, the cold air hurting his lungs.

Then, very slowly, he climbed over the railing. The emptiness extending in front of him felt overwhelming.

This was it.

He didn't even need to jump. Just leaning forward would be enough.

He had read somewhere that when a person jumps from a very high spot, they are usually dead before hitting the floor. Was the bridge tall enough for that to happen? He doubted so.

He wondered how long it would take him to hit the water, and if it would hurt.

An unwelcomed thought entered his mind when least expected: when his body was found, Gou would probably want to know if he had suffered.

He could picture her pestering police officers and medical examiners with tears in her eyes, hoping that they could give her some peace of mind.

He swallowed the big lump in his throat.

He knew it would take her some time, but she would end up understanding that it was for the best.

With him gone, people would have one less reason to ostracise his family.

In a small ultra-conservative village like theirs, being a homosexual was nothing short of a sin.

Rin would never be "forgiven". Never accepted.

Add that to the untrue rumours of his mother selling her body and engaging in every kind of indecent activities, even with married men, and you had a perfect recipe for social exclusion.

Rin knew that, and his mother did too. He would never forget the sadness in her eyes when he came out to her. Her disappointed, resigned sigh.

She hadn't said anything, but Rin knew he had screwed up.

At least he hadn't been stupid enough to tell Gou, too. He knew that he was like a hero for her, and he wouldn't have been able to stand it if she ended up hating him.

He had wanted to tell her, but what good would knowing such a thing do to her? He imagined her accusatory stare, her mouth twisted in anger, shouting at him that he had ruined the little respect that some villagers might still have for the family.

Surely, she would end up finding out anyway, but he hoped she might be more forgiving if she could see that he was trying to fix things for them.

That's what had pushed him to decide to end his own life. He didn't want his sexuality to become a new burden to the family, and he couldn't see any other way out.

He could have just run away, but he felt that wasn't enough. He had nowhere to go, and even if he did, he wouldn't be able to leave self-loathing behind.

He despised himself. He hated the fact that the way he was had hurt his family, as if they were not already shattered enough. He was ashamed of desiring other men.

He didn't want to spend his life feeling like that.

This was the only way. He _had to_ do it.

Far away, he could see the lights of the growing traffic. People were coming back home after work. Soon the bridge would be packed with cars.

He knew he had to jump _now_ , and yet, when he looked at the black waters several metres under his feet, he felt his determination falter.

It probably would be easier if he turned around and just leaned back to let gravity do its job.

Trying not to look down again, he took baby steps to change his position and face the railing, and then took a deep breath while he steadied himself.

He glanced up one more time. A shy, distant star seemed to be trying its best to shine through the dark clouds, as if it wanted to make Rin feel less lonely in his final minutes. The night sky would be the last thing he would see, and in spite of the gloomy weather, he couldn't help but smile.

_ 'It's beautiful,' _ he thought.

And then, he let himself fall.

.

.

.

Sousuke Yamazaki had never been a lucky man. Fate seemed to hold some kind of cosmic grudge against him, perhaps because of something he had done in a previous life, and never in his life had he been able to get any of the things he wanted, no matter how hard he worked for them, or how much he thought he deserved them.

He had started to notice this trend when he was just a kid, in trivial things. If he found a new snack he loved, it would soon be taken off the market for some stupid reason. If he liked a girl in his class, she would always choose a jerky classmate. If he had only had the time to study the first five lessons in his textbook for a test, the exam would be about lesson 6. If there was just one restaurant in the whole street seriously damaged by some typhoon, it was his family's shop.

Things only got worse as he grew old. The spell of bad luck in his teenage years started when his shoulder injury cut short his dream of being a professional swimmer, and everything had gone downhills from there —had it ever gone differently for him?

When he managed to find a job after dropping school after several failed attempts, the repair shop that had hired him soon went out of business.

When he joined a gang in the hope of making some easy money, he was _the only one_ who was arrested in a police raid —a crappy one, not even a spectacular chase around the city— and now his criminal record had only made things worse.

It was no wonder that he found himself jobless, homeless and hopeless, wandering around the country while he tried to figure out what to do with his life.

Everything he attempted to do, no matter if it was something important or something menial, went awry one way or another.

'Murphy's Law' should probably be renamed 'Sousuke's Law.' His life had been constant evidence of the 'Anything that can go wrong will go wrong' adage.

Of course, that night was not an exception. For the last days, when the autumn weather had been pleasantly cool and the rain had been nothing but fine drizzle, he had been staying at a cosy inn in a nearby village.

And just tonight, when he had had to flee before the owners realised he had no money to pay his bill, it seemed as if fucking winter had just decided to make a surprise appearance.

He shivered under his old jacket and cursed himself for the umpteenth time for leaving the last coffee shop he had been in without taking one of the many umbrellas that more far-seeing customers had left by the door.

To make matters even worse, he was completely lost, which was not surprising considering he had little sense of direction. And was it not unfortunate that he had ended up in the middle of nowhere, with no shelter in sight, and next to a damn river when it was pouring?

He looked around, feeling helpless. There was a bridge on his right. He wondered if it would have a sidewalk or if it would be just for vehicles.

If he could cross to the other side of the river, he might be able to find some dry place to wait for the rain to die down.

Or maybe he could thumb a lift to the next city, although, with his luck, he would probably be picked up by a psycho killer.

He followed the course of the river, wondering if there would be some path that could take him to the damn bridge. Its surroundings were quite dark, but the structure was well-illuminated.

He had almost reached the abutment when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw something moving near the railing.

Paying more attention, he saw that it was a person. At first, he felt relieved when he understood that their presence meant the bridge had a sidewalk and it was safe to cross it, but soon his content turned into panic when he realised that the person was _on the wrong side_ of the railing.

Realisation dawned on him: someone was about to kill themselves in front of him.

_ 'No, no, no, no, no, no, please, no,' _ he begged inside his head. He looked around frantically, searching for a group of stairs or some other way to get to the deck.

No matter what most people seemed to think about him, Sousuke was not an insensitive jerk. Surely, he had made bad choices in his life and he was paying the price for it, but that didn't mean he could just sit around and see someone jump from a fucking bridge without batting an eyelash.

"Heeeey!" he screamed at the top of his lungs, even though he suspected that the wind and the rain would make it impossible for his voice to reach the person.

In the distance, he could see the headlights of approaching vehicles. Would they get to the bridge in time?

Whoever was on the bridge moved and Sousuke's heart almost stopped, but they seemed to be turning around.

Perhaps they had changed their mind after all, and they wanted to get on the safe side of the railing again.

Relief washed over him, but the feeling only lasted for a few second, until he noticed that they were making no attempt at climbing over the railing.

"Don't do it!!" he shouted again as loud as he could, his throat aching because of the strain.

It was useless.

His unheard yell turned into a shriek of terror when the person fell.

.

.

.

Rin _knew_ that he had made a mistake the second he felt the pull of gravity claiming his body. In a fraction of a second, he saw in his mind Gou's pain-stricken face and Miyako's tears when they were told that he had died. _How could he do that to them?_

He also saw his future self smiling, holding hands with a faceless man. The sudden certainty that a better life would have been possible if he had given himself the chance felt like a stab to his heart.

Driven by regret, he made wild gesticulations with his numb arms, desperately trying to launch himself forward and grasp the railing, but it was too late.

He was falling, his body jerked by the merciless wind, spinning out of control like a leaf caught in a tornado.

He heard a shriek. Was he screaming? He didn't know.

Even though he was feeling dizzy, he tried to focus. If he managed to enter the water in a convenient position, he might be able to swim and get out of the river —he had always been a great swimmer, after all. As long as the river was deep enough, of course.

What if the bottom was closer to the surface than he expected?

What if he hit the water headfirst?

What if h-

He couldn't ponder over it any longer.

He crashed into the freezing water, and the last thing his brain registered was excruciating pain.

Then, he felt no more.

.

.

.

Sousuke watched the body hitting the river and, for several seconds, he felt paralyzed. The sound it made when it broke the water's surface made him feel sick.

Was there any chance that the person was still alive?

The thought that perhaps they had survived made him spring into action.

He took off his shoes as fast as he could and got in the water, immediately feeling the bite of the cold in his limbs.

He could take several steps, thinking that probably meant the river was not too deep, until the riverbed disappeared abruptly under his feet.

He took a deep breath to fill his lungs with as much air as possible and submerged himself into the murky water.

It was difficult to see what was around him and the dirt made it painful for Sousuke to keep his eyes open.

He swam blind, groping for the person in the darkness that surrounded him and opening his eyes only when he touched something that resembled any part of a human body.

His chest felt as if it was about to explode and his body struggled to rise to the surface against his will.

After some minutes that felt like hours, his hand brushed against something that Sousuke identified as a piece of fabric.

He opened his sore eyes and came face to face with a broad chest. He would have cried with joy if he hadn't been so scared.

Wrapping one arm around the limp body, he struggled to swim back to the surface, feeling as if thousands of needles were piercing his battered shoulder.

When he made sure the person had their head out of the water too, he paddled back to the bank and dragged the body out.

The person was a young man, probably around the same age as Sousuke, he was a bit shorter than him and had maroon hair, or so it seemed in that poor light.

He was not moving and he didn't seem to be breathing. Sousuke pressed his index and middle fingers against his neck, trying to take his pulse. Nothing.

Taking advantage of the fact that the guy was clad in a thin jacket, he pressed his ear against his chest, hoping against hope that he could hear his heartbeat, even if it was weak. Nothing.

Shivering, he tried to recall everything he had learned about CPR at his swimming club when he was a kid.

He placed the heel of his hand at the centre of the guy's chest, then he placed the other hand on top and pressed down.

After thirty compressions, he tilted the man's head and lifted his chin to open his airway. Then, he pinched his nose and sealed his mouth over the other's, blowing into it for one second. He gave two rescue breaths.

"C'moooon," he pleaded, repeating the cycle.

The guy was still unresponsive.

"Hey, what's going on there?" a male voice was shouting from the bridge.

"Call an ambulance!" another person was saying, running down the slope.

More people were approaching Sousuke and the unconscious guy.

"Call the police!" someone yelled

_ 'Whoa, no thank you,' _ Sousuke shivered at the mention of the police.

He wanted to help the guy, he really did, but he had had enough trouble with the law already. The last thing he needed was being questioned about that incident. With his luck, he would probably end up being accused of murder if the guy hadn't survived and couldn't explain he had jumped.

When the first stranger kneeled next to them, Sousuke looked at him.

"Do you know how to perform CPR?" he asked.

"We-well, yeah, kind of…" the man replied, his eyes wide with fear.

"Then do it!" Sousuke urged, springing to his feet before the newcomer had a chance to refuse.

He ran to retrieve his shoes and his bag, while the other man seemed torn between demanding him to go back and helping the unconscious guy.

_ 'I'm so sorry, mate,' _ he thought, casting one last glance at the unmoving form lying on the floor.

By the time the first lights of the ambulance and the police cars shone in the night sky over the bridge, Sousuke had already left.

.

.

.

The rain had stopped at last, and some timid rays of sun falling on his face reminded Sousuke that it was daytime and he _should_ get up.

It wasn't easy, though. His whole body ached after his unexpected swim in the cold river, and his subsequent flight from the scene at a fast pace in drenched clothes that he couldn't change until more than one hour later didn't help.

He was grateful that he had found a phone booth at a deserted area in the outskirts of what seemed a pretty big town, if the thousands of lights he had spotted in the distance before arriving were anything to go by.

There, he could take off everything he was wearing and put on the dry clothes he was carrying in his bag.

Sure, the booth reeked of pee and puke, and there was a crack in the glass that let in an unpleasant gush of cold air, but it had been better than getting naked out in the open.

Changing clothes there had made him think of Clark Kent removing his ordinary clothes to show his true self, Superman. Wasn't Sousuke like Superman, too? At least a tiny bit? After all, he had just risked his life to try to save a total stranger.

Had he _actually_ saved the guy, though? He hadn't even stayed to check if his heroic act had been successful.

Trying not to think about it, he had focused all his energy on finding a suitable spot to spend the night and had wandered around for a while until he had come across a homeless camp.

It was a big change from the inn Sousuke had been staying at, but he had also seen worse in the past. He had found what seemed to be quite a decent spot between two ragged tents and had turned his bag into an improvised pillow.

Yes, sleeping on the cement floor didn't help much to his ability to move in the morning, but he couldn't spend all day lying there.

He rolled onto his back and groaned. His face was starting to feel overly warm because of the sun, except for a spot on his cheek.

It felt as if a small, freezing spike was repeatedly tapping his cheekbone.

_ 'What a strange sensation,' _ he thought, still a bit drowsy. It took several seconds for his mind to register the fact that there _actually_ was something touching his face.

He managed to open his eyes just a tiny bit and saw a person sitting next to him who was, indeed, poking at his cheek.

His whole body tensed up at the sight. What were they trying to do? Were they dangerous? Sousuke didn't have many things that were worth stealing, but still.

He pondered on whether it would be better to pretend he was asleep or to grab the person's arm. Was it better to look threatening or submissive?

He was still undecided when the poking stopped. Sousuke opened one eye very carefully, just to check whether the other was still there.

"So you're finally awake! About time!" an irritated male voice said.

Realising that there was no point in pretending, and deciding that if this stranger wanted him awake it was better to not anger them, Sousuke sat up and sighed, avoiding to make eye contact.

"Ok, ok… What do you want?" he finally asked, looking at the man sitting next to him.

"What the fuck do you mean, what do I want? I was expecting that _you_ would be the one answering _my_ questions!" the guy replied. Out of the corner of his eye, Sousuke saw he was throwing his arms in the air.

Ok, so it was one of those crazy guys, uh? Sousuke never knew how to deal with them, but he always tried to be patient.

"Look, man, I'm not looking for new friends…" he said, still refusing to look at the guy directly. He wanted to make it clear that he was not interested in any bonding with some random stranger.

"Neither am I! But since I'm here, I suppose you're the only one who can explain what the hell is going on!" the man shouted.

Of course, Sousuke had no idea what he was talking about, and he was about to tell them that much when the guy spoke again.

"The last thing I remember is that I was standing on a bridge, making the worse choice of my whole damn life, and the next thing I know is that I'm lying next to a sleeping dude I have never seen before in a place I don't recognize," he said.

Sousuke's eyes widened in surprise at those words and he looked properly at the guy for the first time.

He immediately recognized the maroon mop of hair, even more noticeable in contrast with the unnaturally pale skin. This was the guy who had jumped off the bridge the previous night.

"Wha\- what the hell are you doing here? What is… How…?" Sousuke struggled to form coherent questions.

He noticed that other people in the camp were looking at them with curious eyes, but he chose to ignore them.

"Tsk, are you even listening to what I'm saying? I don't know why I'm here! It's like… I can't explain it. I feel that I just… opened my eyes and saw you," the guy said, frustrated.

Sousuke was at a loss. Perhaps he was dreaming. After all, the situation he had lived the night before was the kind of event that was likely to leave a lasting impression on those involved.

He decided to just let the dream unfold and wait for it to end.

He didn't know what to say, anyway, and he only could gape at the man, wondering when he would eventually wake up for real.

The guy seemed pretty lost, too, and looked around them as if hoping that the answers he was looking for would appear written on the floor or something.

After several seconds, he seemed to be hit by a sudden thought and he looked at Sousuke, confusion written all over his face.

"Who are you, by the way?" he asked with a frown.

"I'm… I'm the guy who took you out from the river," Sousuke said, rubbing his neck awkwardly and avoiding the other's stare.

The guy's mouth formed a perfect _oh_ , but no sound came out.

"Well, I guess in the end I didn't make it, uh?" he said after a few seconds, staring off into space. "But… thank you for trying, anyway," he smiled sadly at him, and the resignation in his voice broke Sousuke's heart.

"I'm sorry," Sousuke whispered, lowering his head.

"No, no, please, don't apologise. It was nobody's fault but mine," he said in a tone that left no room for discussion.

Ok, so maybe this whole dream was Sousuke's subconscious mind trying to reassure him that he did everything he could to save the guy and he shouldn't feel guilty for leaving the way he did —because, yes, the idea that he should have stayed had been playing in his head _all the fucking time_ since he had stopped at that disgusting phone booth and had given himself enough time to think.

He felt relieved and, closing his eyes, he lay down again, assuming that now that the message from his brain was clear, the guy would just disappear and at some point he would just wake up.

"What are you doing?" the man's voice asked after some minutes, startling Sousuke.

He sat down and stared at the guy, who was looking at him with an unreadable expression. That damn dream was starting to annoy him. Why didn't it just end?

"Why are you still here?" Sousuke asked, exasperated. They had already concluded that Sousuke was not guilty of what had happened, hadn't they?

"Oi, really, are you being dense on purpose or what? I already told you that I don't know why I'm here. And now it's the part when you help me to figure it out," the man replied, his voice as desperate as Sousuke's.

A terrifying thought started to take shape in Sousuke's head. He pinched his arm as viciously as he could. He soon realised it was pretty stupid to do that, though. After all, his back had been aching. You can't feel pain in a dream, right? But he did feel the pinch and _it hurt_.

The guy was looking at him with arched eyebrows.

"This isn't a dream, is it?" Sousuke asked, defeated.

"I'm afraid not," the guy said as if he had finally understood Sousuke's reaction to his presence.

"So… are you… a ghost? For real?" Sousuke asked again, even though he already knew the answer.

"So it seems," the guy nodded.

"Ok, look… er… Mr…" Sousuke didn't want to call him _Mr Ghost_ , but if he was honest to himself, he didn't want to ask his name either. He didn't have any intention of deepening their relationship.

And yet… he couldn't help but feel that, by refusing to ask his name, he was somehow _dehumanizing_ him. Ok, maybe he was a disembodied soul now, but he hadn't always been. And he was still in this world.

Sousuke decided that showing some basic manners wouldn't hurt.

"What's your name?" he said this time.

"My name is… _was_ … Rin Matsuoka," the ghost replied in a pained whisper.

Hearing it was hard, and Sousuke had to swallow a small lump in his throat before speaking again.

"I'm Sousuke Yamazaki," he said, stretching out his hand.

Rin moved his arm to shake it, but his hand went right through Sousuke's. 

"Oh?" both said at the same time, looking at Sousuke's still outstretched hand in confusion. The ghost lowered his eyes, as if he was embarrassed.

"Uh, well… Ghosts always walk through the walls in the movies, so… I guess we shouldn't be surprised?" Sousuke said, because how else could he comfort a disappointed spirit?

"A while ago I was poking your cheek just fine, though," Rin frowned. "I wasn't aware that I was doing anything special. And it's not like I'm sinking on the ground, either…"

"True," Sousuke said, tapping his chin. There was no much he could ponder over, though. He knew next to nothing about ghosts or the after-life, and he was not particularly interested in learning. "Look, Rin, I really don't know what to say. I've never met a ghost before," he said with a shrug.

"Yeah, well, I've never been a ghost before, I'm sorry I cannot be of more help!" Rin replied, sounding somehow irked.

His attitude took Sousuke by surprise.

"Are you always on the defensive?" Sousuke asked, arching an eyebrow.

"Are you always so blasé about other people's problems?" Rin asked back, crossing his arms with a huff.

"Excuse me? How is this _your_ problem?" Sousuke countered, raising his voice. "You're not the one being haunted for who knows what reason!"

"No, I'm the one who is fucking dead!" Rin shouted. His strange red eyes flashed with anger.

Sousuke's outrage died at once. Rin was right. No matter how bad Sousuke thought he had it, he was alive. He still had chances to make his life better. Rin had lost it all.

Sousuke felt like a total jerk.

"Look, I'm so-" Sousuke started to apologise, but Rin didn't let him finish. His fury seemed to have evaporated too.

"No, it's fine. You are right, after all," he said, raising his hands as if he was surrendering. "I'm… I'm a bother to you," he finished, looking away.

Sousuke inspected his face trying to make it not too obvious that he was staring. Rin just looked _so sad_.

"I went to that bridge because I thought I was a bother to my family, and then, instead of just… disappearing or going to hell or whatever, I turned into a damn ghost only to become a nuisance for someone else," he said. If ghosts could breathe, Sousuke was sure that Rin would have let out a _very_ heavy sigh.

Sousuke felt like a total jerk elevated to the second power.

"Hey, I didn't mean that, ok?" he started, rubbing his face. "I'm just… I know that there must be a reason for you to be here with me, but I can't figure it out and that… is a scary thought," he admitted.

"I'm not here to harm you," Rin said firmly. "I'm sure of that. Don't ask me how I know it, I just do. You have no reason to fear me," he said, and for the first time, his voice sounded soft.

"Good to know," Sousuke laughed, and Rin smiled. It felt as if the rising tension between them had somehow dispelled.

"I still don't get why I appeared next to you, though. Wouldn't it make more sense if I appeared where my mum and my sister are?" Rin said. Now it was his turn to tap his chin, deep in thought.

Sousuke felt sick at the mention of Rin's family. Somewhere, not even that far away, two women were crying over the dead man he hadn't been able to save.

He chose to keep quiet about it. Talking more in-depth about them was Rin's decision to make, not his.

"What do you think? Do we even know if I'm here because of me or because of you?" Rin asked, not mentioning his family again.

Sousuke was relieved that he had dropped the topic, but he was confused by his question.

"What do you mean?" he frowned. Rin was not making much sense and Sousuke wondered if incoherence was common among ghosts. He supposed it might be the case.

"I mean… Am I here because I had to go back for some reason, or because you had to be haunted for some reason?" Rin asked, speaking so fast that Sousuke had to make an effort to follow him.

"Well, I don't know if you have a reason to go back, but… I guess I might have done something in the past to deserve to be haunted?" Sousuke said with a slight shrug.

He hadn't been a saint, exactly and he saw no need to pretend otherwise now.

"Unless I'm not haunting _you_ , particularly… Do you think you're the only one who can see me?" the ghost asked, apparently excited by his epiphany, if the way he was bouncing was anything to go by.

"Well, people have been casting weird glances at me for a while now, so I imagine that they don't see you and they think I'm just speaking alone and that I'm not exactly sane…" Sousuke said looking around and lowering his voice. Too late for that, he thought, considering that he had been shouting just a minute ago.

"Ok, ok…" Rin closed his eyes and rubbed his temples in circles. He obviously didn't have a headache, so Sousuke supposed he was trying to focus. "I think I read once that when you have had a near-death experience you can become more… uh… receptive to supernatural stuff. So maybe when you dived into the river…"

"I don't think I was in danger of dying, to be honest," Sousuke shrugged. But then he recalled the feeling of his lungs about to explode. So perhaps Rin's theory was not that far-fetched. "Do you think I can see all the ghosts around now? For real?"

"Uh, I don't know," Rin replied. He looked around, biting his lips. "Can you see that man over there, the one with the blue jacket?" he asked, pointing to the highway that ran over the other side of the camp.

Sousuke followed the direction of Rin's finger. He could see lots of cars whooshing by, but there wasn't any person.

"I don't see any man. Is he haunting someone, too?" he asked, even though he realised it was a stupid question. Who could he haunt in the middle of a highway, anyway? Everything was so confusing and he could feel the signs of an incoming migraine.

"How would I know?" Rin shrugged. "The man is a ghost, I just… _feel_ it, but I can't tell why he's there."

"So basically we're back at square one," Sousuke sighed, resigned.

Rin sat with his knees to his chest and buried his face in his arms.

"When I _'woke up'_ here," Rin started, "the first thing I did was trying to get to my home. I supposed that I would have the ability to appear wherever I wanted, but it didn't work. I pictured my bedroom in my head and focused on going there, and I felt I was somehow moving, but when I opened my eyes again, I was still here. I tried many times," he explained. Even though his face was covered, his voice didn't sound muffled.

"Have you tried going somewhere else? Maybe to the bridge where… you know," Sousuke asked. The fact that Rin couldn't go to his family's side didn't necessarily mean he was stuck with him.

Rin just raised his head and nodded. Sousuke wondered if ghosts could cry, because Rin sure as hell looked as if he was about to.

"Ok, what about this area? I mean, do you have to stay by my side literally?" he asked. Against his will, he was starting to feel very curious about the way the whole 'ghosting' thing worked.

"I don't think so… When I was trying to get away, I appeared there," Rin replied, pointing to a group of tents several metres away. "I tried my best to focus, but I couldn't leave and in the end, I only managed to scared some dudes when things started to fly around them…" he finished, sounding regretful.

Sousuke thought long and hard about it. Rin could move things and he had touched his cheek, but he hadn't been able to take his hand. What was different and what was the same in those situations?

Rin had been very interested in leaving the place and in waking Sousuke up. But he was way more chilled about shaking his hand because, after all, that was not such a big deal.

Apparently, Rin needed to make a conscious effort to touch things or to influence his environment.

"So when we tried to shake hands we couldn't because you were not _actually_ focused on it, but when you made a real effort to move around or to touch my face, you could make things fly and I felt your finger," Sousuke summed up, searching for confirmation. Perhaps they were going somewhere, at last.

"That makes sense," Rin said, nodding slightly. "I was desperate to wake you up, but shaking hands felt so automatic I never even thought about it."

_ 'Interesting,' _ Sousuke thought. Excitement bubbled inside his chest. For the first time since he had woken up that morning, he could glimpse a possible reason for what was happening.

Rin had some kind of ghostly power, and maybe that was just what Sousuke needed.

Being haunted by a ghost felt like the kind of thing that would be considered some sort of punishment for something you had done, like karma giving you the middle finger.

Sousuke had done many questionable things in his life, and even though none of them had been due to pure malice, he wouldn't be surprised if whoever pulled the strings of the universe had wanted to pull a prank on him.

But what if that wasn't the case at all? Why would he be punished right after doing the only selfless thing he had done in years? He had just risked his life to save some else's, for fuck's sake. Even if he had failed, his good intentions had to count, right?

Perhaps —and this was what had Sousuke's body almost _vibrating_ in anticipation— Rin's presence was, in fact, _a reward_. Maybe it was his chance to change his life for the better. 

An idea began to take shape in his head. There were many things he could do with the help of a ghost that would earn him good money.

"Hey," he said to Rin, who had been lost in thought since Sousuke exposed his theory.

"Uh?" the ghost asked, coming back from wherever his mind was wandering.

"Do you believe in fate?" Sousuke asked, straight to the point.

"I do," Rin said with a serious expression. "Although that doesn't mean I understand how it works. Why? Do you believe this has something to do fate?" he asked, his face showing genuine curiosity.

Sousuke supposed that honesty was the best course of action in this case —because, what if ghosts could read minds?—, but he decided to play the pity card as well, just for good measure.

"Look," he started, his eyes fixed on Rin. "I've had a very shitty life. Some of that has been my fault, some has been because of the circumstances. But when I jumped in the river, I was trying to do the right thing. I believe that it was fate that I was there yesterday just when you jumped, and it is fate that you have stayed around instead of crossing to the other side, whatever that is. I think you are here because you have to help me," he finished, trying to sound as convincing as possible.

"As payment for what you did? But how can I help you? I'm… you know, dead," Rin frowned.

"Have you watched the _Ghostbusters_ movie?" Sousuke asked, the corner of his lips curling upwards.

"Yes…" Rin's frown deepened. "But it was a long time ago."

"Would you like to start a ghost-hunting business with me?" Sousuke finally suggested, using his best salesman expression.

"Like in the movie?!" Rin's eyebrows met his hairline.

"Well… Kind of," Sousuke shrugged. "I'm sure people would be willing to pay a lot of money to get rid of the ghost haunting them," he said as if it was the most ordinary thing in the world and it didn't involve supernatural beings he didn't believe in until that very morning.

He saw Rin was hesitating. Sousuke didn't enjoy being manipulative, but he was desperate, and he truly believed that Rin was there to help him, somehow. To change his miserable fate.

"You owe me," he stated, playing his last card and hoping that Rin would buy it.

Rin looked shocked, and even a bit hurt, at Sousuke's remark, as if he couldn't believe that he would use that on him. After several seconds in silence, he lowered his head.

"But what if there aren't any ghosts to get rid of?" he asked, still unconvinced.

"Oh, don't worry about that. There _will_ be a ghost," Sousuke grinned.


	2. There's something strange in the neighbourhood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter features the beginning of a mystery, Sousuke and Rin working hard, and a little side story. I hope you like it.
> 
> To my dearest Riri for putting up with my constant second-guessing and for her endless support.

** 14 March 2022 **

Momotaru Mikoshiba and his best friend, Aichirou Nitori, had only been working in the remodelling business for eight months when Seijuuro Mikshoshiba, Momo's eldest brother and proud owner of Build-a-life decided they would help him with the modest company's new project.

The idea had come as a surprise for both of them. Until that moment, they had only worked in minor projects, and now they were supposed to work on a whole hotel.

At first, it all had been very exciting, and they were thrilled that Seijuuro had trusted them with what probably was the biggest project the company had accepted so far.

Momo had tried not to think too much about the fact that the clients were old acquaintances of his older brother and Sei probably expect them to be more lenient if Ai and Momo made a mistake than any other client. Working for someone who was not going to fire them on spot for choosing the wrong colour for the doorframes was a great way of gaining experience.

Besides, Momo trusted their abilities. He was sure that it would be hard, but he was a relentless optimist, or so he had been told. On paper, everything looked neat and feasible.

However, after visiting the place, they had started to feel a bit overwhelmed. They already knew that the building was old, but they had made some research and had found out that it had undergone major renovations over the years.

According to the documentation, it had been built as a private manor around one hundred years before.

Then, it had been abandoned by the family who owned it —there was no explanation as to why— and after just a few years it had become a hotel. As such, it had had different owners, who apparently invested a lot of money in remodelling the building just to end up selling it again shortly afterwards —no explanations about that, either.

Momo wondered why none had been able to turn it into a successful business. Its location was fairly convenient, even if it was not downtown. The last renovation it had undergone hadn't been _that_ long ago, and the style was pretty classic, so it couldn't be said that it was too outdated for current decoration standards.

Nevertheless, it looked way more run-down than they expected.

Or, perhaps, _run down_ wouldn't be the best way to describe it, because its physical appearance was more than acceptable. The problem was _the sensation_ that it gave. It didn't seem to be in bad conditions, but as they got closer, Momo had the same feeling he had had in several buildings in ruins that he had visited before.

The place _looked_ alright, but _felt_ dismal. It was disconcerting, to say the least.

The most surprising thing about the building details, however, was the price that the new owners had paid for it.

Calling it a bargain would have been the understatement of the century. It had been so cheap that one might think that, if the buyers had pretended to be less interested in sealing the deal, the previous owners would have actually paid them to take the damn place.

According to the information they had, the building had been acquired by four friends in their early twenties who wanted to re-open the hotel. Considering the fate of the previous businesses, Momo was rather unsure about their success, but still, he couldn't help but root for them.

After all, many people had doubted Seijuuro's skills when he had started his business as a remodelling contractor, just because of his youth and lack of experience, which angered Momo and made him blindly support any young entrepreneurs he came across just out of spite.

He would work his ass off to make sure that, when they were done, the hotel would be damn perfect. He wanted to contribute to their business success.

"I… expected it to be different," Ai's words interrupted Momo's musings.

He was not surprised that his friend was voicing his exact thoughts.

"Yeah… Well, it's not in a bad condition, but… It's just this… air," Momo tried to explain that he didn't think the problem was _the building_ itself, but he didn't think that would make any sense to Ai, so he gave up.

However, Ai nodded as if he was silently agreeing with whatever Momo meant. Momo felt relieved.

After struggling with the lock for some minutes, Ai finally managed to open the big door and took a tentative step inside.

The lobby was decorated with style, and Momo wondered why the previous owners hadn't even bother with taking the expensive furniture with them.

They inspected the area, looking for the usual signs of termite infestation.

The place seemed to be in perfect condition, and yet Momo was filled with unease as they moved through the empty corridors, taking notes and talking about potential repairs.

When they found the staircase, Momo just could look at it in awe. It was wide, with polished marble steps and an exquisite, wood bannister that wouldn't have been out of place in a royal palace.

"We have to keep this just like it is," he told Ai, who had already written and underlined the word STAIRS in capital letters.

Momo almost felt undeserving of setting foot in such a marvellous piece of art, but they needed to inspect the upper floors.

He couldn't help but wonder what other architecture jewels they would find.

However, when they reached the first floor, he immediately realised that his expectations had been too high.

The atmosphere was heavy, as if they were surrounded by a suffocating miasma. There was just some kind of… dark energy that put him on edge.

Momo caught the unmistakable smell of rotting wood and traced its origin to a door on the right side of the corridor.

The strangest thing was that, upon closer inspection, he realised that the door was, in fact, in good condition.

There was no trace of putrescence, no telltale signs of decaying wood.

Ai crouched next to him, examining the bottom of the door and the doorframe.

_ 'This is so weird,' _ Momo thought, narrowing his eyes.

Perhaps he was getting the flu or something and his sense of smell was being affected.

"Ugh, Momo!" Ai said scrunching up his nose as he looked up. "Did you have beans for breakfast again?" he asked, to Momo's surprise.

"No, I didn't!" he answered, annoyed."And just so you know, that was only once…" he mumbled, just for good measure.

"What's that stench, then?" Ai asked again, standing up.

"It smells like rotten wood," Momo shrugged. "The door seems fine, though."

"No, I'm not talking about that smell," Ai frowned. He then pointed to the spot he had just been inspecting. "It reeks over there."

Momo kneeled and sniffed the area Ai was pointing at. His friend was alright. A strong stink similar to that of rancid vomit filled his nostrils.

Maybe someone had sneaked into the place and vomited somewhere? Well, it didn't make much sense, but what other explanation could be?

"It must be something inside the room," Ai said, while he fished the master key out of his pocket.

The moment he put the key in the lock, the lights around them started to flicker.

Momo looked around in confusion, searching for an explanation in the deserted corridor.

"Momo…" Ai whispered to get back his attention. When Momo looked at him, he realised that he was trembling and he had the key in his hand again.

"The… the door," Ai stuttered, taking a step back and covering his mouth.

Momo stared at the door, unable to believe what he was seeing. And even if he could believe it, there was no way he could understand it. The damn door was _vibrating_.

The stench from before became more intense, so strong that it made Momo felt sick.

_ 'What the hell…?'  _ he thought, taking a step back too.

A shrill sound could be heard behind the door, growing louder and louder until it turned into an ear-piercing shriek that made the blood in Momo's veins run cold.

"Let's get the fuck out of here!" he yelled.

Ai seemed too shocked to move, so Momo grabbed his arm and dragged him down the corridor, struggling not to fall down the stairs, unaware of the pair of hazel eyes that followed their frantic escape.

Thankfully, the brusque movement seemed to bring Ai out of his stupor and he soon started to cooperate.

Together, they ran to the street, slamming the main door behind them and darting to their van without looking back.

Once inside the vehicle, they locked the doors and tried to regain their breath. They just stared at each other in silence, eyes wide, trying to comprehend what had just happened inside that place.

Finally, all the pieces of the puzzle fell into their place. That explained why all those businesses had failed and why the building had been such a bargain.

After realising that he wasn't going to calm down any time soon, Momo took out his phone, searched for Seijuuro's number and pressed the CALL button.

His brother answered on the third ring.

"Sei," Momo said in a high-pitched voice, "we've got a fucking situation here."

.

.

.

In the dimly lit dining room of a huge mansion, right in the heart of the wealthiest neighbourhood of the city, five people sat in silence around a big, rectangular table.

All of them, except one, had their heads low and their eyes closed

Sousuke scanned the room from his position at the head of the table while his clients focused on 'summoning the ghost to try to convince it to leave,' as he had told them to do.

He was glad to have chosen the 'medium approach'. Everything in that room screamed _nouveau riche_ , and Sousuke was sure that the eccentricity of séances would be much more appealing to that particular family than his regular ghost-busting staging.

As an extra advantage, he felt way more comfortable on his perfectly ironed suit, sitting on that expensive chair, than he did on his brown overalls, carrying the old backpack sprayer that he had painted and tweaked to make it look like some kind of weapon to be used against evil ghosts.

There was just a tiny drawback: if he had known the daughter in the family was so beautiful, he might have gone for the ghost-busting option, as he was sure that it made him look pretty attractive —he had met several girls in the last year who would back up this affirmation.

In any case, he was happy with the family he had chosen. They were obscenely rich, and what Sousuke was going to charge them for his services was just peanuts.

Rin , invisible to the clients, was standing in the corner of the room waiting for his signal to start moving some things here and there. Sousuke always told him that it would be great if he could add some noises to the mix too, like a hysterical cackle or a desperate wail, but the suggestion usually made Rin glare at him or flip him the bird.

Sousuke cleared his throat to get the family's attention.

"I feel a presence in the room," he said, perfect poker face in place.

"Is it here?" the father asked, frantically looking around the room.

Sousuke nodded, both to answer the man and to let Rin know that it was his turn.

Rin sighed and rolled his eyes before walking to the door and pushing it open.

The family screamed and Rin grimaced.

"It's ok," Sousuke said, not changing his expression. "I don't think it wants to harm you."

"Tsk," Rin said, since only Sousuke could hear him. "I want to harm _you_. Honestly, how long are we going to continue with this shit?" he asked, even though it was obvious Sousuke wasn't going to answer. He moved around the room, hitting some papers he found on a sideboard to make them fall to the floor.

"I feel it is… irked," Sousuke said, making his best to suppress a smile. Teasing Rin could be so fun.

"Of course I'm irked, you bastard!" Rin shouted as he stood on tiptoes to reach for the lamp hanging over the table and shake it a bit.

"Ohmygodohmygodohmygod!" the mother shouted, wildly shaking her hands as if she was trying to shoo away a swarm of flies.

Even Rin laughed at her display, and he shook the lamp a bit more strongly.

The whole family started to scream and curse.

"Be calm," Sousuke said, raising his hands in a placating manner. "We want to communicate with it so that it leaves for good, not scare it away for now."

"Ok, ok… sorry," the mother said, placing her hand against her chest and making an effort to calm down.

"Now, close your eyes and join your hands. We need to create a circle of pure energy," Sousuke said, raising his head, making it clear that he was getting ready for the summoning.

"Oh, for fuck's sake," Rin murmured, shaking his head.

Sousuke rolled his eyes as much as he could, tensed his body and wobbled a little in the chair, pretending to go into a trance. He took a deep breath and exhaled heavily through his nose.

"Who are you?" he asked with his best guttural voice.

Rin clicked his tongue.

"You look ridiculous, you know that?" he said, crossing his arms over his wide chest.

"It's a man," Sousuke said, making his best to ignore Rin's continuous complaints. His friend was being especially difficult today, and Sousuke couldn't understand why.

He made a mental note to ask him later.

"Can you just make it fast, please?" Rin sighed. "Just tell them I'm not related to them and ask them to throw some salt on the floor or something. If I weren't a ghost already, I would be dying from second-hand embarrassment…"

Sousuke fought the urge to snap at him.

"His name is Yui," Sousuke said, and he heard Rin snorting. "He used to live in this house…"

"Uh? How's that possible? We're the ones who built it, it was just an empty site before…" the father said, frowning.

_ 'Oh, shit,' _ Sousuke thought. What a rookie mistake he had just made!

"Well, he says he used to live here," Sousuke replied, doing his best to hide his frustration. "It could be that he lived in whatever building was here before, if any. Or maybe he's confused. It happens to some ghosts. They don't always appear in the place where they lived… or where they died. They could have died in a bridge and appear in a house," he said, as it was the first idea that came to his mind.

To be honest, that was the only thing about which he was sure regarding ghosts. It was what happened with Rin, after all.

He felt Rin's glare on him. Sousuke _knew_ immediately that he had made a huge mistake by bringing that up.

"How do you dare use that…?" Rin said through gritted teeth. The lamp started to spin and the door slammed shut.

Even the family seemed to perceive the dangerous change in the energy around them, if the way they squirmed in their chairs was anything to go by.

Sousuke knew he had to regain control lest someone end up injured —probably him.

"Calm down," he begged, hoping that Rin would realise he was being reckless and he could harm the family.

The lamp spun faster.

"I said, calm down!" he shouted, standing up and slamming his hands on the table.

Rin seemed to come back to his senses. The lamp started to slow down.

"You know what? Fuck you, Sousuke. _Fuck you_. I can't believe you're using what happened to me in your scam," Rin grumbled. He looked so angry and hurt.

"I'm sorry," Sousuke said, pretending to apologise to the family even though his words were just for Rin.

"Just do your thing and let's go," Rin replied, his voice covered in ice.

Sousuke sat down again, but he was not in the mood to restart the whole farce.

"We need some sage and salt," he improvised. "All of you together have to prepare an infusion of sage and let it boil away inside a salt circle. When there's no water left, the ghost will be gone," he said.

He would have been quite proud of how very convincing the bullshit he had just spouted was if he wasn't so concerned about Rin.

The four members of the family stood up and ran out of the room.

Sousuke waited for a minute to make sure they were out of earshot and walked up to Rin, who was leaning on the wall with his back to him.

"Look, I'm so sorry, ok? The dude just caught me off guard and that was the first thing that came to my mind," he explained.

Rin didn't move and Sousuke rubbed his face in frustration.

"Rin, come on," he pleaded. "You know I would never hurt you on purpose," he said, and he really meant it.

Regardless of the odd circumstances in which they had met and of the peculiarity of their situation, Rin was the best friend Sousuke had ever had.

Rin turned around. To Sousuke's relief, his face didn't show real anger, but he was not smiling either. He was more like… pouting.

"You broke the rules. Don't do it again," he said, his tone final. And just when Sousuke thought he was done, he fixed his red eyes on him and added, "And… an infusion of sage in a salt circle? _Really?_ "

Sousuke grinned. He knew that the serious conversations were not over, as he still needed to ask Rin about the way he had been acting the whole time, but they didn't have the time for that, and at least Rin didn't seem angry anymore.

"Uh, sir?" a female voice called Sousuke from the threshold. He turned around to find the pretty daughter standing awkwardly with a steaming cup in her hands.

"Yes?" he said, flashing his best smile while he approached her.

"Is- is this enough?" the young woman asked, showing him the infusion. A soft pink tinted her cheeks when he leaned a bit closer to inspect the cup.

"This is perfect," he said in a low, deep voice, his eyes never leaving the woman's.

He saw her gulp and licked his lips. Damn, she was so beautiful.

"Akiko!" a strong voice coming from another room ruined the moment. "Is that enough or not!"

"Ye- yes, it is!" she stuttered while Sousuke took a step back.

The parents and the son came back to the dining room with an open salt pack and a portable stove.

"Ok, what now?" the mother asked, eyeing Sousuke suspiciously. It was clear she wasn't pleased with the almost inexistent distance between him and her daughter.

"Leave the infusion there, it is the place where most of the ghost's energy is accumulating," Sousuke said, pointing to a spot on the table right under the lamp.

"Ha! That's a good one!" Rin exclaimed. Sousuke cast a side glance at him, wondering if he was being ironic or if he really meant it. After all, the lamp had shaken so violently that it could have fallen, so assuming the ghost's energy was building up right there made a lot of sense, at least in Sousuke's head.

Of course, Rin usually had a very different opinion about Sousuke's alleged creativity.

The son placed the portable oven on the table to make sure the infusion was hot enough to evaporate, and Akiko placed the cup carefully on the oven.

"Draw a circle with the salt on the floor, around the table and the chairs," he commanded.

When the mother started to walk around the table, leaning forward as much as she could to trace the circle, Sousuke started to follow her, murmuring chants in a made-up language.

He heard Rin cackling at that. Ok, at least that meant his mood had changed for the better.

When the circle was completed, Sousuke sat at the head of the table again, gesturing for the family to do the same.

"Now we wait in silence," he said, mostly because he was tired of his absurd display and he didn't feel like making up any more crap for a while.

When the steam coming out from the cup started to diminish considerably, Sousuke cleared his throat.

"Sometimes the ghosts get a bit… agitated when they are about to fly towards the light, so don't get scared if the lamp starts moving again. That means that he's leaving," he explained, giving Rin a pointed look.

Rin sighed for the umpteenth time, but he climbed on the table anyway, grabbed the lamp and shook it slightly.

Sousuke observed the faces of the people around him. They looked at the lamp, then at each other, and then at the lamp again.

He gave three quick nods at Rin, signalling him to move the lamp faster. Rin shook it again with more strength, gaining speed.

"Aaaargggghhhhh!" Sousuke suddenly shouted while he pretended that he was convulsing. "He's… struggling…"

Akiko screamed and hid her face behind her trembling hands, while the rest of the family seemed frozen on the spot, even though their faces screamed how much they would like to get out of the room.

"Oh my fucking god," Rin said, clearly embarrassed and tired, and decreased the strength with which he was moving the lamp.

"I… I think… I _feel_ he has finally accepted it. He's ready to go now," Sousuke said, speaking in a soft murmur and relaxing his body.

"Thank God," the father whispered, looking at the ceiling. Then, he turned to Sousuke. "Thank you. Thank you so much… If you hadn't helped us…" he said with a quivering voice.

The whole family were looking at him with warm smiles and bright eyes.

Sousuke felt uncomfortable under their stares. Truth be told, he _loved_ easy money, but when someone acted so grateful, he almost wanted to say it had been a pleasure to help and just leave empty-handed.

Then again, what would be the point of the whole business if he let himself be swayed by those soft feelings?

Out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Rin floating away and leaving the room.

"I'm glad that I could help you with your problem," he said, reaching out to shake the man's hand. "Just in case, and if it's not too much trouble, I think it would be good if I could stay the night, to make sure that he's completely gone and there's no… uh… residual activity," he suggested.

The hotel he was staying in was quite fancy, but the mansion was impressive, and Sousuke didn't want to miss the chance of sleeping in such a place.

"Is that likely to happen?" the father asked, concerned.

"Well, it's not usual, but it can happen if the ghost is particularly rebellious… And this one was a fighter, that's for sure. And I won't accept any money until I'm sure it's completely gone," Sousuke explained, making sure the tone of his voice showed the perfect balance between being confident about having done a good job and being cautious because he was a _real_ professional and he didn't want to leave any loose ends.

"Oh, I see, I see," the father nodded fast, clearly pleased to have that last reassurance. "We'll prepare the guest room for you so that you can spend the night and be ready if something happens."

"That's so kind of you, thank you, it's such a generous offer," Sousuke said, as if he hadn't been the one pushing for that outcome.

He had learned a long time ago that it was wise to never miss the chance to compliment a client, even if you had to pretend your ideas were theirs. Then, he flashed him his best business smile. "Now, about the payment…"

.

.

.

** 15 March 2022 **

Rin was pacing up and down outside the impressive mansion that he had been 'haunting' for the last two weeks.

He was bored out of his mind but he preferred to wait outside because he didn't like to see the moment when Sousuke charged their clients for getting rid of the ghost.

He knew very well that running away when it was payment time didn't make him less guilty, but it was the only thing that made him feel less disgusted with himself.

Becoming a criminal _after_ dying wasn't something that one would expect to happen, but, well, he felt he owed Sousuke.

After all, the guy had tried to save him the night Rin jumped off the bridge, and then, against all logic, against all the things they thought they knew about life and death, _something_ had brought them together, for who knew what reason.

And who was Rin to ignore that otherworldly serendipity that had bound them together for what —he supposed— was a greater good, at least for Sousuke?

Sousuke was convinced that fate had led him to that bridge on that particular night because he _needed_ to be there, and Rin was convinced that the reason why he hadn't crossed to the other side was that it was his mission to help Sousuke, as a reward for risking his life to try to save Rin's.

When they met, Sousuke was a wanderer without a yen to his name, with no family he could rely on —Rin suspected he was too ashamed to ask them for help—, no friends and no job. He was alone, he was homeless, he was jobless and, most of all, he was resigned to lead that kind of life forever.

That was heart-breaking in Rin's eyes, and he was willing to do anything in his power to help Sousuke.

What Rin hadn't expected, though, was that Sousuke's idea of 'help' implied swindling gullible people and making them pay for a service that they didn't _actually_ need.

When he had heard about Sousuke's plan for the first time, he had refused. He had decided to end his life because he had believed that his family would be ashamed of him for being gay, so how in hell was he going to do something as disgraceful as what Sousuke was suggesting?

But, on the other hand… wouldn't his family be proud of him if they knew he had done his best to help someone in need?

If his dad could see him, wouldn't he be happy that Rin was doing something useful to try and save someone who was facing dire straits, especially if that someone had tried to help him first?

And to be honest, now that Rin knew for sure that there was some kind of afterlife, he felt that it was _very likely_ that his father could see him. And that was what finally convinced him.

When he had appeared before Sousuke again after musing for two hours, Sousuke seemed to have lost hope that Rin would agree to his plan, and when Rin stated that he would do it, Sousuke seemed so happy and so _surprised_ that someone was willing to do something for him that Rin couldn't help but think how sad that was and wonder what kind of life Sousuke had led up to that moment.

Of course, Rin was not stupid, and he knew his dad wouldn't approve of his actions unless Rin set some basic rules to make sure that their incipient business was not as utterly disgusting as it felt.

Sousuke seemed reluctant to accept at first, but Rin wouldn't budge. When it was clear that he had no other option but to agree, he finally said yes.

It was a very basic set of rules, but Rin was adamant that it was followed, no matter what.

First of all, Sousuke was not allowed to charge big amounts of money to their clients. Rin was willing to help him have enough to lead a modest life, but not to become rich at the expense of others.

Secondly, their only targets would be rich people. It was not that Rin thought it was alright to swindle people just because they were wealthy, of course, but if those people could afford to pay for Sousuke's services and still be rich afterwards, then it was not _that_ bad, right?

Rin definitely didn't like it, but he didn't like the idea of Sousuke starving to death, either, and their small business allowed him to always have something to eat, clean clothes, and a roof over his head —although said roof was usually that of hotel rooms, since the suspicious nature of their activities made it safer to leave the cities they visited after finishing a job.

Besides, technically speaking, Sousuke didn't lie to their clients. He _really_ helped them get rid of a ghost. The fact that he had placed the ghost in their homes in the first place was just a trivial detail.

The idea for their business was so simple, actually. Sousuke would find out where the wealthiest area in a city was and he would have a walk around. He would choose a house and would observe the people who lived there for some days, then Rin would appear in the house moving things, banging on walls, touching people's faces…

Then, when the people in the house started to talk about ghosts and about being scared or worried, he would inform Sousuke, who would appear on their doorstep claiming to have extrasensory perception and to have received a 'signal,' a mental cry for help from their home, even if they weren't aware of having searched for him.

Depending on the impression Sousuke had of the potential clients after his observation, he would present himself as a powerful medium, a smart parapsychologist or a ghost-hunter who didn't mind getting his hands dirty to get rid of naughty ghosts.

They would agree on a fee, Sousuke would pretend to fight the ghost —and he was pretty good at acting, to be fair— and then Rin would do something spectacular to mark the moment in which he was sent to 'the other side', whatever that was.

The clients would thank him and Sousuke would leave the house with fresh cash in his pockets. A piece of cake.

The third rule was pretty straightforward and Rin thought it should be obvious, but with Sousuke, he could never be sure. Stealing was not allowed. No matter how many splendid, expensive objects they saw in the mansions, no matter if they the clients had four or forty of those objects and wouldn't notice it if one went missing. They might mean something to them, and Rin didn't want to take them away. Sousuke had laughed and had said that Rin was too sentimental, but he had accepted anyway.

The last rule was not exactly related to their clients, but it was important to Rin. Sousuke was not allowed to use his story in any way for any tale he made up. He was not allowed to say that the ghost in the house was named Rin, or that he had killed himself because he was gay, or that he had jumped off a bridge.

He knew that Sousuke didn't understand why that rule existed. After all, it would be very convenient for him to just use different aspects of Rin's experience instead of having to make up new lies all the time.

However, for Rin, it was just too hard to keep hearing Sousuke talking about his death in such frivolous situations, and even though it might make no sense to his friend, that rule meant so much to Rin on a personal level.

And that's why he had seen red the day before when Sousuke had mentioned the bridge and the fact that ghosts don't always appear where they died.

Sousuke had never broken a rule before, and the fact that the first time he did it was the rule that meant the most to Rin made him feel so betrayed.

However, to be fair, Rin's reaction was not just Sousuke's fault. The truth was that he had been feeling cranky the whole day, and even Sousuke had asked him about it when he was ready to go to bed, just before Rin disappeared for the night.

Rin hadn't been able to pinpoint what was wrong with him. It's was just the way he was feeling things, as if the energy around him was… turbulent.

If he had to explain it in a few words, even though he wasn't sure it was an accurate description, he would say that he felt as if the environment he was in was somehow trying to push him away.

It was as if the very air that surrounded his ethereal body was reminding him that he shouldn't be there.

He supposed that maybe he just needed to take a break from the 'no-life' he was leading. He found Sousuke's display of cheap tricks irksome, even though they didn't use to bother him much before.

It all felt so wrong, so out of place. He wasn't even sure if his gut still could tell him something, but if it could, it might be telling them to stop what they were doing and just… move on to better things, at least for a while.

He felt they were burned out, or well, at least that's what he thought.

Sousuke , of course, didn't see things the same way and insisted that the problem was that Rin had never been completely ok with the nature of their business and he was feeling remorseful about it all.

Not wanting to start an argument, since the family hearing Sousuke talking to himself would have been very inconvenient, Rin decided to disappear and leave his friend alone for the night.

And now there he was, floating idly by the main gate of the property, watching expensive cars pass by, expecting Sousuke to come out any minute now and wondering how he should bring up the 'let's-take-a-break' topic again without ruining Sousuke's more than likely excellent mood.

"I'm going to call the police!" the father's angry voice reached Rin's ears, startling him, and brought him back to reality.

"Dad, please, stop!" Akiko shrieked. She sounded scared.

Rin turned around to find Sousuke running towards him at full speed.

"Run, run, run, run, run!" he shouted at Rin when he reached him.

Sousuke had to be very nervous if he hadn't realised how pointless it was to tell Rin to run, considering those people couldn't even see him.

And even though Rin knew it made no sense, he still ran alongside Sousuke, just because it was _fun_. And Rin missed having fun.

Fortunately, Sousuke knew the area very well from all the time he had spent watching the house and its inhabitants, so after turning some strategic corners and running down some alleys that made perfect shortcuts, they soon got to the city centre, where their hotel was.

"What the hell happened?" Rin asked Sousuke the instant the room door closed behind him.

"Give me… give me a second to catch my breath," Sousuke panted, leaning against the wall and throwing his head slightly backwards.

And then, Rin saw it. A dark purple circle just where Sousuke's neck met his jawline.

"Is that a hickey?" he asked with a frown, anger bubbling inside him.

Sousuke's hand shot up to cover it as he let out an awkward laugh.

"Well…" he said, avoiding Rin's eyes.

"Damn it, Sou!" Again?" Rin whined. "Don't tell me you just hooked up with Akiko!" he accused, remembering the way the girl had begged her father to 'stop.'

"I couldn't help it! She just… showed up at the guest room! What was I supposed to do, turning her down? Rejecting a host's hospitality is not nice…"

"Cut the crap! And her parents showed up too at some point before she had left?" Rin said. It wasn't a real question despite the intonation.

"Hey, how was I supposed to know that they were early birds and they wanted to solve the payment question first thing in the morning?" Sousuke tried to defend himself.

"Ha!" Rin exclaimed. "The payment question! I suppose you weren't even paid!" he threw his hands in the air, frustrated.

"Jeez, you are smart," Sousuke said, rolling his eyes.

"And you are a douche, you know that?" Rin said, lowering his voice, already calming down. "I guess that's why I'm your only friend."

"I could say the same about you," Sousuke replied, finally moving away from the wall.

"Yes, but in my case, it's to be expected because I'm dead. What's your excuse?" Rin countered, following him around the room.

"I'm a little shit," Sousuke shrugged.

Rin just sighed and shook his head.

"So what now?" he asked without much energy. He sat on the bed, even though he didn't need to rest. It was surprising how often he did things he didn't need to do anymore just from habit. 

He didn't mind. Those things helped him remember that he was a living human once. He was scared of forgetting the person he was.

"Now we pay the hotel bill and we leave before the police start to look for me," Sousuke said while he began to throw his clothes any which way into his travel bag.

It was lucky that this time he hadn't used his stupid backpack sprayer so they wouldn't have to waste any time packing it.

When they made sure they weren't leaving behind anything —especially anything that could be used to identify Sousuke—, they left the room trying to not get the attention of other guests.

Rin decided to wait outside the hotel while Sousuke paid the bill to watch out for any police officer that might be near.

Besides, he liked watching people. He noticed that only some metres away from him, a car had stalled. _'Maybe the driver just got their license,'_ he thought. Rin had never learned to drive.

It was in situations like that one, seeing people doing things he had never done, that he thought about everything he had missed, everything that he still was going to miss.

His first car. His first job. _His first kiss_.

Rin didn't understand why he insisted on observing people going about their daily lives. It was fascinating for him, but also painful, to be honest. Thinking of all the things he would never be able to do hurt, and yet he couldn't stop himself from looking for those little routine details in others' existence.

He wondered when his mission —whatever it was— would be accomplished so that he would be allowed to finally rest in peace.

"Rin," Sousuke mumbled behind him, interrupting his musings, "we have a problem," he said, sweeping past Rin towards the train station without even checking if Rin was following him.

"What is it?" Rin asked concerned, even though he knew Sousuke wouldn't answer while they were surrounded by so many people.

He waited patiently until they reached an area which was way less crowded.

"Did you have any issue to pay the bill?" Rin broke the silence. The last thing they needed was to be reported by the hotel, too.

"No, it was alright. The problem is that it was more expensive than I thought. I guess I shouldn't have raided the minibar ha ha ha," Sousuke said, his fake laugh tense.

All the alarms went off in Rin's head.

"Then?" he urged Sousuke to continue.

"Basically, we have run out of money. There's nothing left. Zero. Null. Nada."

"How is that possible?" Rin exclaimed, his eyebrows almost meeting his hairline.

Sousuke started to count using his fingers.

"One, this hotel is not like the inns we used to stay in at first. Two, surveillance tasks require me to eat out every day, and that's not free. Three, this is not the kind of business that gets you many clients, and four, sometimes _you_ refuse to charge those clients," Sousuke shrugged.

"Oh, no. No. Don't blame me. I have literally zero expenses _and_ it's your fault that you weren't paid today because you were caught fooling around with that girl. And it's not the first time, anyway," Rin said, crossing his arms against his chest.

Sousuke was weak to pretty girls, and it was not the first time that a job had gone awry because of his proclivity to act flirtatious —or just plain horny— towards the wrong woman.

"From now on, we're only going to work for male clients who don't have wives, daughters, sisters or any other girl around them," Rin announced when Sousuke stopped in front of the station. "I'm serious."

Sousuke sighed, entering the building.

"We would still have some money left if you had allowed me to charge that Sasabe guy…" Sousuke complained.

"No way! Shall I remind you that you were ok with helping him for free?"

Goro Sasabe's case had been one of the most satisfying jobs Rin and Sousuke had done so far, probably because it wasn't even a job.

He was a nice, but lonely man who was falling in love with his friend Miho, but he was unable to confess because he felt guilty for loving her, as his fiancée has died in a car crash five years before.

Rin and Sousuke had met him in the most peculiar way, and, in a way, that encounter had changed the way Rin saw their business.

He smiled, losing himself in the memory of that day, shortly after they had arrived in the city.

_ They were sitting on a park bench, where Sousuke was having a coffee, when a young woman had approached them. _

_ She was quite a cutie, so Rin was sure that Sousuke would try to flirt with her if she sat by his side. To his surprise, she ignored Sousuke and fixed her eyes on Rin. _

_ "You're dead," she said as a greeting. _

_ "You're blunt," Rin replied, arching one eyebrow. _

_ "Ah… sorry," she looked away, embarrassed. "It's just that I'm a bit shocked. I've been watching you two since you've got to the park, and it's the first time I've seen anyone talking to… one of us," she explained, her last words almost a whisper. _

_ "Rin?" Sousuke said, but instead of looking at him, his teal eyes kept searching the area around them. Rin could almost see the huge question mark over his head. _

_ "Ah, it's fine. A woman just noticed that you can see me," Rin replied, not paying much attention to his friend's reaction. _

_ To be honest, he was more intrigued by the newcomer. Excitement bubbled in his chest when he realised that this was the first time in more than a year that he could have a conversation with someone other than Sousuke. _

_ "So he can't see me?" the woman asked, and Rin thought he caught a trace of disappointment in her voice. _

_ "No, he can't. I'm the only one he sees," Rin explained, his tone apologetic. _

_ "How is it possible? None has ever been able to see me," she asked, curiosity dancing in her warm eyes. _

_ "We don't know for sure… He tried to save my life when I was drowning in a river," Rin started, choosing not to give too many details. "He couldn't do it, but since then, he can see me. We suppose we are somehow bound by fate, but who knows?" he shrugged. _

_ He knew he was offering a vague explanation, but it was his first time speaking with another ghost and he had no way of knowing if he should trust her or not. _

_ "I see," she said staring off into the distance. "So you can't help me, after all…" _

_ "Help you?" Rin frowned. "What kind of help do you need?" he asked. Perhaps she needed some assistance to cross to the other side or to figure out what she hadn't been able to do it so far, to begin with. _

_ Rin _ _ hoped she wasn't expecting him to have some sort of deep, arcane knowledge about the intricacies of being a ghost just because he could communicate with a living person. _

_ "There's someone I need to talk to, I have tried but he just… doesn't hear me. I have a very important message to deliver to him, otherwise, I can't rest in peace," she explained, and her eyes were so bright that Rin couldn't help but wonder if ghosts could cry. After all, he hadn't shed a single tear since he had felt himself appearing next to Sousuke so long ago. _

_ "I'm sorry, I can't teach you how to do it, I don't even know how I do it…" he sincerely apologised. _

_ "It's alright," she said, looking away again. It was then that Rin realised she was not staring off into space, as he had initially thought, but to a street food stall next to a playground. _

_ "Is the person you need to talk to there?" he asked, an idea starting to take shape in his head. _

_ "Yes…" the woman nodded, her eyes still glued to the stall. _

_ "Rin…" Sousuke chimed in a very unamused tone, as if he had read Rin's mind though he didn't even know what he was talking about and he was already refusing even before Rin had had the chance to explain anything. _

_ "I didn't say anything yet!" Rin raised his hands in a gesture of fake innocence. _

_ "May I have a word with you?" Sousuke said through gritted teeth, standing up and walking away from the bench, which was pretty funny in Rin's eyes, since the woman could just follow them to hear everything they said and Sousuke would never know. _

_ However, she didn't leave her spot and just continued looking away from them. _

_ "What is it?" Rin asked when they got to a deserted area. _

_ "Don't get us involved in any weird shit," Sousuke stated, straight to the point. _

_ "Why are you assuming it is some weird shit? You haven't even heard her part of the conversation!" Rin protested. _

_ "But I've heard yours. And I know you well enough to recognize that look in your eyes. You want to help her," Sousuke said, crossing his arms over his chest and staring at Rin as if he was daring him to deny his intentions. _

_ "You say it as if that was something bad," Rin said with a frown. That was what he disliked most about Sousuke. _

_ "I'm not saying it's bad," Sousuke sighed, relaxing his pose. "But you can't go around offering your help to strangers when you don't even know what they need. Let's be honest. We don't even know that much about ghosts. What if she's evil and she wants to hurt that person?" he tried to explain. _

_ "Ok, ok, but hear me out," Rin insisted, even though he knew Sousuke had a point. "Can't we just at least listen to her story before flat out refusing to help her?" he asked. _

_ "But why would we?" Sousuke still seemed dubious and looked alternately at the bench where they had just been, probably wondering if the woman was still there, and at the food stall. From where they were standing now, it was impossible to see the person inside well. _

_ Rin _ _ didn't reply, and none of them opened their mouth for several seconds, each lost in his own thoughts. _

_ "Hey, Sou," Rin said after a while. "That night on the bridge, you had no reason to help me, but you still tried," Rin started. _

_ Sousuke _ _ flinched slightly. Rin knew a part of him still felt guilty because he stopped doing CPR in Rin and wondered if the outcome would have been different if he hadn't left the technique in that random man's hands. _

_ "I know that you are a much better person than you think," Rin continued, "and I know that you are able to do good things without expecting anything in return. Perhaps…," he made a pause, trying to find the right words, "perhaps my mission here is to make you realise that you are not the lowlife that you have convinced yourself you are," he finished, and he meant it. _

_ Rin _ _ was not just trying to have his way; he wanted Sousuke to understand that Rin believed in his goodness, and he should do it too. _

_ Sousuke _ _ looked at him with wide eyes, and even though Rin knew his friend was not the emotional type and that he was unlikely to verbalise his feelings, he still understood the silent gratitude in his astounded expression. _

_ "Ok," Sousuke said shaking his head as if he wanted to get free from his trance, his usual smirk replacing his previous —and uncharacteristically— soft smile. "Let's see if there's something we can do for that fine lady." _

_ They learned that the woman was called Hiroko, she came from a town called Iwatobi and she had died in a car crash five years before. _

_ The person in the stall was Goro Sasabe, her fiancé, who had fallen into a deep depression after her death and had left Iwatobi because the place brought him so many memories, good and bad, that he didn't know how to handle. _

_ At first, Hiroko wasn't sure why she had not been able to leave the living world, but when she was just a teenager, she had watched a movie that explained that spirits couldn't move on if they had unsolved issues. _

_ She could only hope that her 'unsolved issue' was not the fact that she and Goro never got married even though they were engaged, because that was something that just couldn't be fixed. _

_ However, after some time and several talks with ghosts that had been stuck on this plane of existence for much longer than her, she had concluded that the reason why she hadn't been able to leave was that she was trapped by Goro's certainty that he couldn't function without her. _

_ He just couldn't let her go, and the worst thing was that he didn't know his grief was making it impossible for her to rest in peace. _

_ To make matters even more complicated, Hiroko knew that Goro was starting to fall in love with his best friend, Miho, a lovely woman that came from Iwatobi too, and had also been friends with Hiroko when she was alive. _

_ Hiroko knew Goro well enough and had been around him and Miho long enough in the last five years to recognize the telltale signs of blooming love. _

_ However, Goro refused to acknowledge his feelings, even though Hiroko had seen him rummaging through his closet to find that one shirt that brought out his eyes when he was going to meet Miho, or staying away at night, just lying in bed, smiling as he re-read for the umpteenth time a kind message that Miho had sent him hours before. _

_ Goro _ _ felt guilty for getting over his grief, for falling in love again, for moving on. And that, in turn, was like a chain for Hiroko, that couldn't rest knowing that Goro was miserable because he insisted on being faithful to a memory. _

_ When Hiroko had seen Rin talking to Sousuke in the park, she immediately knew it was her chance to communicate with Goro and to let him know that it was alright to love Miho and be happy with her. _

_ Rin _ _ listened to her with growing distress. Even though he couldn't speak with the man directly, he could say to Sousuke whatever Hiroko wanted to tell Goro, and Sousuke could deliver the message. _

_ However, he realised how unlikely it was that Goro believed Sousuke. If some stranger comes to you out of the blue to tell you that your death girlfriend is alright with you dating someone else, well… that's not the kind of thing you expect to be true. _

_ And yet, he knew they had no choice but to try and help Hiroko. They had nothing to lose, and if they succeeded, they would make three people very happy. _

_ When Rin told Sousuke Hiroko's story, Sousuke just arched an eyebrow. Rin knew him well enough to understand what it meant: Sousuke was pretty sceptic about the outcome, but he didn't want to voice it. _

_ Considering how blunt Sousuke could be, Rin supposed it was a good sign that this time he didn't want to be the killjoy. It meant that he cared. _

_ After pondering over it for a minute, Sousuke sighed and started to walk towards the stall. _

_ "Oh, nice, pizza," he said as they approached it. "I'm hungry," he added with a wink. _

_ Rin _ _ believed that acting nonchalant was his way of calming down. After all, this was a first for Sousuke, too, and Rin was sure that he didn't want to mess it up. _

_ "Your friend has a good heart, even though he likes acting as a bit of an asshole," Hiroko said to Rin while Sousuke ordered a slice of 'bufala margherita pizza' to break the ice, a pizza Rin had never heard of, and he would never have the chance to try. _

_ Rin _ _ was equally surprised and pleased that she had read Sousuke so easily after such a short exchange. Perhaps it was some kind of ghost wisdom that Rin didn't possess yet. _

_ "Yeah… I wish he believed so too," he replied, his eyes on Sousuke's back. _

_ "This is a first step in the right direction," Hiroko said, her eyes falling on Goro instead. "I don't think I can convey properly how grateful I am. If this doesn't work, then I don't know what will be of him" she whispered, as if she was afraid of the others hearing them. _

_ "It will work. Not matter how long it takes us to convince him," Rin reassured her, placing a hand on her arm. _

_ It was like caressing a piece of organdie. Rin had never touched another ghost before, and he found that he liked it. It gave him a comforting feeling. He smiled. _

_ He hadn't realised how much he had missed any kind of physical contact until now --if that touch could be considered 'physical,' that is. _

_ He sometimes clapped Sousuke on the shoulder or poked his face to annoy him when he was oversleeping, but it was not the same. There was never a reason for a lingering touch, and Rin suspected Sousuke would probably feel uncomfortable, mistaking Rin's search for friendly closeness for some sort of romantic intimacy. _

_ After all, Sousuke was the kind of guy who felt the need to add 'no homo, though' at the end of every sentence he said that might show some sort of affection for Rin, even if was just as best friends. _

_ Rin _ _ had never felt offended by Sousuke's habit of asserting his heterosexuality, but he sometimes wished that he could just be a bit more affectionate without Sousuke freaking out.  _

_ Sometimes, Sousuke didn't realise that he was the only human contact Rin could have, and he didn't realise how hard it was for Rin not to be able to do something as simple as hugging someone else. Sousuke took physical closeness for granted and never gave much thought to how lonely Rin might feel not being able to touch anyone but him. _

_ Hiroko seemed to notice Rin's reaction and smiled back at him. _

_ "It's the first time someone touches me in five years," she said, not even trying to hide the sadness in her voice. _

_ "You must have felt very lonely," Rin replied, suddenly realising that he was lucky to have Sousuke, regardless of his aversion to being hugged. _

_ "I have," she said, "but I hope that I can cross to the other side today," she said with determination, eyeing Sousuke and Goro. _

_ "Aren't you scared?" Rin asked, even though he wasn't sure where that thought was coming from.  _

_ "Scared of what? Whatever is waiting for me, it can't be worse than… this," she just waved her arm, signalling everything that surrounded them. "Seeing the person you love suffering every day, not being able to comfort them, knowing that you are the cause… This is Hell already," she covered her face with her hands as if she didn't want Rin to see her cry. _

_ "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you," Rin apologised. "It's just that… I'm pretty scared myself. I'm scared of what I'll find when I finally move on," he admitted aloud from the first time in his ghost life. _

_ Hiroko wiped away her tears. _

_ "It's alright," she sighed. "I'm just so tired already. One would think that it would be great to be able to spend your afterlife next to the people you love, but it's not." _

_ Rin _ _ imagined for a second how it would be to appear in his house and be all the time around Miyako and Gou, always by their side but, at the same time, so far away. _

_ "I get what you mean," he said. "C'mon, let's see how Sousuke is doing," he gestured for Hiroko to follow him, thinking that Sousuke would have already finished his pizza slice and would be waiting for them to start the important conversation. _

_ However, Rin had underestimated Sousuke's inability to be patient when he wanted to be done with something soon. _

_ Apparently, he had already told Goro what he was there for, and it seemed Goro wasn't taking it too well. _

_ "Get the fuck out of here or else!" the man was threatening Sousuke, brandishing a rolling pin. _

_ "Hey, easy there, man!" Sousuke took a step back with his hands up. _

_ He looked at Rin (and Hiroko, even if he couldn't see her) as they reached his side. _

_ "Sou! What's going on?" Rin asked, concerned. _

_ "He doesn't believe me," Sousuke replied through gritted teeth. _

_ "What? And now you pretend you're talking to her?" Goro shouted while he swayed the rolling pin, not caring at all about the fact that he was scaring away his potential customers. "Stop that or I'll call the police!" _

_ "You should have waited for us to come so that you would have known what to say," Rin scolded Sousuke, even though he knew that the damage was done. _

_ "No shit, Sherlock," Sousuke countered. "You should have come faster. I just wanted to break the ice, and… well, it somehow escalated…" _

_ Rin _ _ turned to Hiroko. "Ok, tell me something about your relationship," he urged her. _

_ "We met in high school. He was in the swimming club," she said. Rin passed on the information to Sousuke. _

_ "You met in high school, you were in the swimming club," Sousuke told Goro. _

_ The guy was still furious, but that made him pause. Sadly, it was not enough to convince him. _

_ "You could have seen that in any yearbook…" he said with a frown, and he was right. _

_ "I tutored him!" Hiroko said to Rin, who, in turn, told Sousuke. _

_ "She tutored you," Sousuke said, and he took a step forward as Goro lowered the rolling pin. _

_ Hiroko continued offering details that Sousuke could use. _

_ "You had low marks and your parents wanted you to leave the club, but you looked for a tutor at your school. She helped you," Sousuke said, his hands still up. "You didn't ask her out until the end of the school year. She wore a pale pink dress on your first date…" he continued, adding more and more details that only Hiroko could know. _

_ "Why… why do you do this? Is this some kind of sick joke? How do you know all those things?" Goro said, sitting down on a plastic chair behind his stall and burying his face in his hands. "What do you want from me? Money?" he asked, his eyes wet with unshed tears and his voice desperate. _

_ Sousuke _ _ sighed and crouched by his side. _

_ "I don't want money," he said, even though he didn't sound very convincing to Rin's ears, probably because he actually  _ wanted _money. "I have… a gift, kind of?"_

_ Goro _ _ raised his head and looked at him, and suddenly everything Rin could see in those sad eyes was hope, a desire to believe. _

_ "Can you talk to her?" he asked, grabbing Sousuke's arm. _

_ "No, I can't," Sousuke said in a soft voice that Rin had never heard him use before. He didn't make any move to release himself from Goro's grasp. _

_ "Then…?" Goro inquired. _

_ "I can talk to a ghost, and that ghost can talk to her. She asked us to give you a message," Sousuke explained, and Rin noticed the way his shoulders tensed, as if he wasn't very sure about what to say next. _

_ "A message? What… what kind of message?" Goro asked with a frown. _

_ "She knows about you and your friend Miho," Sousuke started to explain, but stopped when he noticed the way Goro's face paled. For the first time, the man looked around, as if he was expecting to see Hiroko appeared by Sousuke's side any minute now. _

_ "Is Hiroko here?" he seemed concerned about Hiroko hearing the conversation. "I don't… there's nothing between Miho and me," Goro whispered, apparently finding the rolling pin on his lap very interesting all of a sudden. _

_ Hiroko was right, Rin thought. Goro didn't allow himself to love again and be happy. _

_ Hiroko kneeled next to Goro, even though she knew he couldn't see her. Goro, however, must have  _ felt _something, because he looked to his side, his mouth slightly open._

_ Sousuke _ _ cleared his throat to get his attention again before continuing. _

_ "She wants you to know that… well, she's not angry about it. She loves you and Miho. She wants you to be happy," Sousuke said. His voice sounded thick with emotion. _

_ "I… I just can't" Goro said, tears finally rolling down his cheeks. _

_ "Yes, you can. You already love Miho. That doesn't diminish the love you had for Hiroko in any way, and she knows it," Sousuke said, and Rin felt proud of him for keeping on trying to convince Goro. _

_ "But… Wouldn't that hurt Hiroko, if she's still here?" Goro asked, looking to his side again. _

_ "She can't rest in peace if you're miserable. She wants to leave without regrets," Sousuke explained, doing his best to express what Hiroko had told them before. "She wants you to know that she frees your heart." _

_ At Sousuke's last words, Goro broke down. _

_ "I will always…" he sobbed. "Hiroko, I will always love you," he promised, unaware of the fact that Hiroko's trembling fingers were brushing his face. _

_ "I will always love you too," she said, and Goro closed his eyes and smiled, as if he had heard her. _

_ "Let's give them some privacy," Rin gestured for Sousuke to follow him. _

_ "Then we can't tell him what she says," Sousuke noted. _

_ Rin _ _ smiled. "It doesn't matter. I think both know what the other is feeling." _

_ After some minutes, Goro calmed down. _

_ "What should I do now?" he asked Sousuke. _

_ "Well, that's up to you, but… If I were you, I would call Miho right now," Sosuke grinned. _

_ "I… I'm sorry about the rolling pin," Goro rubbed his neck. "I thought you were a scammer!" _

_ "Haha, what a crazy idea!" Sousuke laughed and cast a side glance at Rin, who just rolled his eyes. Deep inside, he hoped that this would make Sousuke catch the 'wanting a different, more honest life' bug. _

_ "I don't know how to thank you…" Goro said, and he seemed on the verge of tears again. _

_ "Be happy, just like Hiroko wanted you to, and I will consider myself paid," Sousuke smiled. "Call Miho before I change my mind and decide to charge you…" he joked, stretching out his hand for a shake. _

_ "I will," Goro smiled back at him, taking out his phone with his free hand. _

_ The last thing Sousuke and Rin heard as they walked away was Goro talking to Miho on the phone, asking her to meet him later that day to discuss something important. _

_ "Rin," Hiroko's voice behind them made them stop. "I don't know how to thank you…" she said, and Rin found it funny that she used exactly the same words and tone Goro had used some moments before. _

_ "It's alright," Rin placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'm really happy that we could help you. It was nice to be able to do something like this for a change." _

_ "Take care of yourself, and of him," Hiroko said, pointing at Sousuke. "Don't forget that you have each other," she smiled softly. _

_ "I won't," Rin promised, grateful that he was not as alone as Hiroko had been. _

_ "If you ever go to Iwatobi, take some flowers to my grave," she said. "It would be a nice way to remember this day and the good you have made." _

_ "We will. Goodbye, Hiroko," Rin said. _

_ "Goodbye, Rin," she replied, turning around and walking away. _

_ "Oh," Rin heard her say. "It's so pretty…" _

_ Rin _ _ followed her with his eyes until she was engulfed by a bright light that somehow made him feel at peace. _

_ "Let's go," he said, turning to Sousuke. _

_ Sousuke _ _ smiled at him. _

"Rin," Sousuke's voice brought Rin back to the present moment. "You were spacing out."

"I was just thinking about Hiroko," he shrugged. He knew Sousuke couldn't completely understand how much interacting with another ghost had meant to Rin, but he hoped that their experience with the couple had also taught something to Sousuke.

"You're so sentimental, Rin," Sousuke teased, and Rin was pretty sure he was making an effort to not roll his eyes.

"You say that, but I saw the way you acted back then, and how much you cared about it going well, even though we didn't even know them. You were happy. That kind of help… it's priceless."

Sousuke just stared at him for a while, probably wondering how much sappier Rin could get.

"…Damn it all, I hate it when you're right," he said after a whole minute, surprising Rin with his reply. "I would never have charged him."

Rin laughed, a mixture of happiness and relief bubbling in his chest, and the corner of Sousuke's lips curled upwards.

"Hey, you know what I'm thinking?" Sousuke said after spending some minutes reading the information on the LED screens and panels. It seemed that he finally got some plan about what they could do next. "Maybe you were right yesterday. Maybe we shouldn't be here, anyway. Perhaps this is fate again, after all, and there's a reason why all this happened…"

"Sou… You know very well _why_ this happened," Rin said, pointing at the hickey on Sousuke's neck.

"I know, I know, but… You might not believe me, but when I chose that family, I didn't even notice Akiko, she was never there. And this time it was her who came after me, and not the other way round. I won't deny that I messed up, but I just went with the flow of things that were already happening anyway, and if things had been different, we wouldn't be here," Sousuke countered.

"So you think that there's some fated reason for us to be right here, right now?" Rin asked, very interested in hearing Sousuke's reasoning.

He was happy that Sousuke was for once agreeing with him and that he believed Rin when he said his instinct was trying to tell him something, but, truth be told,they would have left the city anyway, regardless of Sousuke's love affairs with Akiko.

Rin doubted there was a special reason for them to be at the station at that exact time, but he did his best to hide his scepticism.

"Well, if we haven't been brought here today pushed by destiny, how do you explain that?" Sousuke asked back with a bright grin, pointing at a big panel with big, black letters behind Rin:

****

** 15 MARCH 2022, 11.00 AM,  **

** TEMPORARY SERVICE **

** DESTINATION: IWATOBI **

** PLATFORM 2 **

Rin just stared at the panel, mouth agape, stunned by the words he was reading.

Before meeting Hiroko, he knew next to nothing about Iwatobi, and so did Sousuke. From what she had told them, it was a small town on the coast.

Rin and Sousuke had done some research about it later, out of curiosity. They found out that it attracted a fair number of tourists every year thanks to its beautiful scenery and its quiet beaches.

Its cuisine was also remarkable, and it hosted one of the most popular food festivals in the region.

Aside from that, they hadn't learnt much more, mainly because they had immediately focused on learning more about the city they were in at the moment, and the neighbourhoods Sousuke deemed more interesting for their business.

Rin looked at the big clock on the wall. 10.52 am.

What were the odds of them arriving at the station just in time to get on a train that, _as a temporary service_ , went to the town that a ghost they had met by chance had told them about, just when it was clear that they needed a change in their life?

"Ok, this is weird," Rin admitted, looking at Sousuke, who was still smiling.

"Shall we go, then?" Sousuke asked, and he started walking towards the train before Rin replied.

"Mmm, shouldn't you go to buy your ticket first?" Rin said, gesturing towards the ticket windows.

"With what money?" Sousuke laughed as if he didn't have a care in the world. "Let's just get on the train or we'll miss it. We will figure out the details later," he pressed.

Rin could do nothing but follow him. That irresponsible side of Sousuke irked him sometimes, but, if he was honest to himself, he also envied his ability to improvise, his wilfulness to always follow his instinct, consequences be damned, and even his recklessness, sometimes.

Sousuke had the courage to live his life as he pleased that Rin had never had, and Rin couldn't help but admire him for it.

They found a seat next to the restroom, and even though it was not an ideal spot —at least for Sousuke, since Rin wouldn't have to worry about potential stink— it would be convenient if the ticket collector appeared in their wagon and Sousuke needed to hide.

"So… to Iwatobi, then?" Rin said, floating by the window to enjoy the sight, and wanting to make sure that Sousuke wouldn't change his mind and decide to get off the train somewhere else.

Sousuke nodded with determination. "To Iwatobi."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry it took me so long to update, November and December were very busy months for me, but hopefully, the next one won't take that long!

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first time posting a Free! multi-chapter story. I have the whole story planned out, but not written yet, so please be patient with me if you decide to follow this fic! Thank you :)
> 
> HAPPY HALLOWEEN!


End file.
